International

NATO promises Ukraine $43bn in aid, ‘irreversible path’ to membership

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2024

US President Joe Biden gestures as the NATO heads of state pose for a family photo during the NATO 75th anniversary summit at the Walter E Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, on July 10, 2024 [Brendan Smialowski/AFP]

NATO promises Ukraine $43bn in aid, ‘irreversible path’ to membership

NATO leaders have pledged to provide Ukraine with at least $43bn in military aid within the next year to bolster its defences against Russia and formally declared Kyiv on an “irreversible path” to membership in the Western military alliance.

The pledges, included in a final communique following a NATO summit in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, came as the alliance’s members also announced individual and joint steps to boost Ukraine’s and Europe’s security.

This includes the United States, Netherlands and Denmark announcing that the first NATO-provided F-16 fighter jets would be in the hands of Ukrainian military pilots by this summer. The US also said it will be deploying longer-range missiles in Germany in 2026, a major step aimed at countering what the allies say is Russia’s growing threat to Europe.

The move will send Germany the most potent US weapons to be based on the European continent since the Cold War. It would have been banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed by the US and the Soviet Union in 1987, but that collapsed in 2019.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on social media platform X his appreciation of NATO’s effort to strengthen his air force, saying the new fighter jets “bring just and lasting peace closer, demonstrating that terror must fail”.

‘Ukraine’s future is in NATO’

Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, DC, said NATO has committed to most of what Zelenskyy has been asking for, noting that in addition to the F-16s, the alliance has promised to provide Ukraine with dozens of air defence systems.

“In particular, the US has agreed to provide Ukraine with four Patriot missile systems, while other members are providing the upkeep and maintenance of these systems. So the Ukrainian president has been given most of what he’s been asking for – apart from one very vital thing and that is membership of NATO,” Hanna said.

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The alliance’s communique, declaring “Ukraine’s future is in NATO”, promised to continue to support Kyiv “on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership”. But the invitation would come “when Allies agree and conditions are met”, it said.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg underlined that Ukraine will not join the alliance’s ranks immediately, but insisted that must happen after the war is over to ensure that Russia never attacks Kyiv again.

Of the overall NATO assistance, he said, “We are not doing this because we want to prolong a war. We are doing it because we want to end a war as soon as possible.”

The US and some other countries have opposed membership for Ukraine during the conflict with Russia to avoid an escalation of tensions that could lead to a larger war. They also have stressed that Ukraine must take significant steps to address corruption as well as other systemic reforms.

The NATO communique also strengthened past language on China, calling it a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine and saying Beijing continues to pose systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security.

Stoltenberg told reporters it was the first time the 32 allies had jointly labelled China a decisive enabler of Russia’s war and called it an important message. He said NATO was not an organisation that imposes sanctions but added: “At the end of the day, this will be for individual allies to make decisions, but I think the message we send from NATO from this summit is very clear.”

Anxiety over Trump

The NATO chief also delivered a passionate defence of the military alliance itself when reporters asked about the possibility that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, a NATO critic, could pull US support for the alliance if he wins a November election. The questions come amid heightened European anxiety over 81-year-old President Joe Biden’s staying power after he fumbled a debate on June 27.

Stoltenberg, without naming Trump, said the criticism of the alliance from the US has “not been about NATO. It’s about NATO allies not investing enough in NATO. And that has changed”.

While Trump has renewed his threat not to defend any NATO members from a Russian attack if their military spending does not meet the alliance’s target of at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP), the number of allies meeting this target since 2021 has increased from six to 23.

“The United States has been understood,” Stoltenberg said. “Allies have acted.”

Trump, meanwhile, was asked several times on Fox News Radio whether he wants the US to exit NATO. He answered, “No, I want them to pay their bills.”

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Biden, meanwhile, stressed the importance of NATO as he hosted the North Atlantic Council, the formal decision-making body of the alliance, at a Washington, DC, convention centre, noting that since he took office, not only has military spending increased but the number of battle groups has doubled on NATO’s eastern flank.

“We can and will defend every inch of NATO territory, and we will do it together,” the US leader said.

The summit of the leaders from the 32 NATO countries – plus Pacific partners Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, as well as Ukraine – is expected to be one of Biden’s last appearances at an international forum before the US election. And with less than four months to go before the election, Biden’s political travails have loomed large over the gathering.

NATO leaders “do see that Joe Biden is probably not the leader they encountered one, two or three years ago, and they’re concerned about that because [he has brought] NATO back into the centre of American national security policy”, said former US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs PJ Crowley.

“And they also recognise that while these pronouncements are valuable and important and vital to Ukraine’s future, they potentially have… an eight month shelf life, given Donald Trump’s pretty established view where he’s sceptical of all alliances and NATO in particular.”

Still, the pledges of aid are vital in the short term, Crowley said.

“In one way or another, Ukraine has to be sustained, it has to be rebuilt and its sovereignty has to be protected,” he said. And one of the routes that is “strengthening the Ukrainian position prior to a necessary negotiation, as I think the instinct of Trump will be to go to negotiations and try to get the best deal that’s available, whenever he chooses to do that.”

NATO promises Ukraine $43bn in aid, ‘irreversible path’ to membership

NATO

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

International

UK Court Hands Life Sentence to Nigerian Teen for Knife Attack Killing

Published

20 minutes ago

February 20, 2026

Trends Admin

UK Court Hands Life Sentence to Nigerian Teen for Knife Attack Killing

A Nigerian teenager residing in the UK, Jackson Uwagboe, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 21-year-old Robert Robinson, following a brutal knife attack in Lewisham, London. The sentencing was delivered at the Old Bailey on Wednesday.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that 19-year-old Uwagboe of Hamilton Street, Lewisham, was found guilty of murder on Tuesday, 10 February 2026, in a case stemming from a dispute over a stolen bicycle. The court ruled that Uwagboe must serve a minimum of 21 years before he can be considered for parole.

Uwagboe’s co-defendant, Eromosele Omoluogbe, 24, was earlier convicted of perverting the course of justice after assisting Uwagboe in attempting to flee to Nigeria via Heathrow Airport.

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Prior to this sentencing, two other men, Ryan Wedderburn, 18, and Kirk Harris, had already been convicted and handed life sentences in May 2025 for their roles in the same murder.

Detective Inspector Neil Tovey, who led the investigation, described the incident as a “brutal and sustained attack”. He said, “Robert was subjected to a brutal and sustained attack by a group of men armed with knives. He was unarmed, already wounded, and on the ground when Uwagboe attacked him. Today’s verdict brings justice for Robert Robinson and his family.”

The case has drawn attention to youth violence, knife crime, and gang-related activity in London, as well as the challenges faced by law enforcement in preventing violent disputes over seemingly minor disputes such as bicycle theft.

The sentencing underscores the UK judicial system’s approach to serious violent crimes, ensuring that perpetrators face long-term incarceration while providing a clear minimum term before parole consideration.

UK Court Hands Life Sentence to Nigerian Teen for Knife Attack Killing

International

UK-Based Nigerian Gets 13-Year Jail Term for Forcing Girlfriend to Abort Pregnancy

Published

2 hours ago

February 20, 2026

Trends Admin

Adeleke Adelani

UK-Based Nigerian Gets 13-Year Jail Term for Forcing Girlfriend to Abort Pregnancy

A UK-based Nigerian man, Adeleke Adelani, has been sentenced to more than 13 years’ imprisonment for unlawfully aborting the pregnancy of his former partner after coercing her to take abortion medication on Valentine’s Day.

The offence occurred in 2020 when Adelani, then 28 years old, deceptively invited the woman — whose identity is legally protected — to his residence in Letterkenny under the guise of discussing the future of her pregnancy. Evidence before the court showed that the victim was nine weeks pregnant at the time of the incident.

Prosecutors told the court that upon her arrival, Adelani threatened the woman with violence and forced her to ingest five tablets of misoprostol, a drug used for medical abortions, thereby causing the unlawful termination of the pregnancy. The court heard that the defendant had researched the medication in advance and acted deliberately. The victim later contacted authorities, leading to Adelani’s arrest by Irish police.

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At the time of the sentencing, Adelani was already serving a separate seven-year prison sentence for an unrelated offence. He had initially been due to stand trial last year but pleaded guilty before jury selection began, accepting responsibility for the charges brought against him.

During the sentencing hearing at the Letterkenny Circuit Court, the victim delivered a powerful impact statement, explaining that although she had chosen to forgive Adelani, the consequences of his actions would remain with her for life.

“I have forgiven the defendant,” she told the court. “That forgiveness does not mean what he did was acceptable. It means I refuse to let what he did continue to control my heart and my life. When he wrongfully imprisoned me and caused the termination of my nine-week pregnancy, he took far more than my freedom. He took my child. He took my sense of safety. He took a future that I had already begun to plan and love.”

In a letter read aloud in court, Adelani apologised to the victim, accepted full responsibility for his actions, and expressed remorse for the pain and trauma he caused.

Delivering judgment, John Aylmer described the crime as deliberate, premeditated, and deeply traumatic, stressing that it involved coercion, abuse, and a serious violation of trust. The judge sentenced Adelani to 11 years in prison, with the final two years suspended, for causing the unlawful termination of a pregnancy, and an additional five years, with the last 12 months suspended, for assault causing harm.

The sentences are to run concurrently, adding to Adelani’s existing term and resulting in an overall prison sentence exceeding 13 years. The case has reignited debate in Ireland and internationally about reproductive coercion, domestic abuse, and violence against women, with legal observers describing it as one of the most serious cases of its kind in recent years.

UK-Based Nigerian Gets 13-Year Jail Term for Forcing Girlfriend to Abort Pregnancy

International

Epstein, Ex-Israeli PM Named in Alleged Profiteering From Boko Haram Crisis

Published

10 hours ago

February 20, 2026

Trends Admin

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak

Epstein, Ex-Israeli PM Named in Alleged Profiteering From Boko Haram Crisis

A new investigative report by Drop Site News has alleged that the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein and former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak leveraged Nigeria’s long-running Boko Haram insurgency to pursue commercial, security, and strategic interests in the country.

According to the investigation, emails released by the United States Department of Justice in 2018 show Epstein acting as a behind-the-scenes facilitator in discussions involving Jide Zeitlin, then chairman of Nigeria’s Sovereign Investment Authority, and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, former chairman of DP World. The exchanges allegedly focused on attempts to secure control of key shipping terminals in Lagos and Badagry, following unsuccessful negotiations with successive Nigerian administrations dating back to 2005.

The report claims DP World was unwilling to invest in a proposed industrial zone in Nigeria without full or majority control of the adjoining port infrastructure, a demand that reportedly stalled the deal for years. Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial, is alleged to have helped revive talks by brokering introductions and strategic conversations.

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Drop Site News further reported that bin Sulayem resigned on February 13 after renewed scrutiny of his past links to Epstein resurfaced publicly, intensifying attention on the historical port negotiations and the role of foreign intermediaries in Nigeria’s maritime sector.

Beyond logistics and port infrastructure, investigators highlighted what they described as near-daily correspondence between Epstein and Barak after the former Israeli leader left public office. Barak, who served as Israel’s defence minister until 2013, allegedly sought to deepen Israeli-Nigerian security cooperation, using Nigeria’s counter-insurgency battle as an entry point for Israeli-linked security, energy, and technology investments.

The report said Barak later relied on security networks in Nigeria to promote Israeli defence and surveillance firms. In 2015, Barak and a partner invested $15 million in FST Biometrics, founded by former Israeli intelligence chief Aharon Ze’evi Farkash. The firm’s Basel biometric system, originally deployed at Israel-Gaza crossings, was subsequently marketed in Nigeria as a counter-terrorism solution.

According to the investigation, the biometric technology was introduced at Babcock University as protection against Boko Haram threats, while also being pitched to African governments for broader identity management and population-control applications.

The report further cited a 2020 World Bank-supported initiative involving Israel’s National Cyber Directorate and Toka Group, a cyber-intelligence company co-founded by Barak. The partnership was presented as contributing to Nigeria’s national cybersecurity framework, but Drop Site News argued it also deepened Israeli corporate access to sensitive security architecture.

In its conclusion, the investigation alleged that a network of security interventions, port negotiations, and technology investments enabled Epstein and Barak to profit from instability associated with the Boko Haram conflict, while simultaneously advancing Israeli commercial and strategic interests in Nigeria. The outlet stressed that these claims are based on document reviews and correspondence, framing them as allegations rather than established legal findings.